Jiu-Jitsu and Other Methods of Self Defense by Percy Longhurst.

I am proud to announce that, in conjunction with Dr. Milo Thurston and the Linacre School of Defense (www.sirwilliamhope.org), I have republished Jiu-Jitsu and Other Methods of Self Defense by Percy Longhurst.

An early promoter of Japanese “Jiu-Jitsu” in the first decade of the 20th Century in England, Percy Longhurst studied under both Yukio Tani and Sadakazu Uyenishi. He was familiar with, and possibly studied Bartitsu under Barton-Wright, and la Canne stick-fighting under Pierre Vigny.

A prolific writer, and accomplished amateur athlete, Longhurst quickly turned his skills to Self Defense and the “new,” mysterious, and glamorous foreign martial art of Jiu-Jitsu.

In 1906 he published the first edition of what was to become a celebrated and frequently reprinted manual: Jiu-Jitsu and Other Methods of Self Defense.

Combining both western wrestling and self-defense methods with Japanese, Longhurst's manual was groundbreaking. Another innovation of this manual is a section specifically intended for ladies. This book is so dense with material, yet so easily understood and well put together, that it was revised and reprinted for decades, at least until the early 1950's, and at least 11 editions.

This is one of the most important of the early western self defense manuals due not only to its heavy emphasis on Jiu-Jitsu but its combination with other western methods. It's sure to please western martial artist and early Jiu-Jitsu researchers alike.

Well done as ever, Kirk. I'm looking forward to your lecture on re-publishing at ISMAC, too.

It's a pity that Longhurst appears not to have formally taught his system. I'd say that of the second generation British self defense instructors, he was the most sympathetic to what Barton-Wright was trying to do. "Jiujitsu and Other Methods" was the closest thing to a Bartitsu manual to have come out of England in the pre-WW1 period.

Could I bother someone to educate me on how to download this very interesting literature? All I see is the option to purchase a paperback.

edit: nevermind, worked around it by going to lklawson's ever-growing list of books on lulu.

Thanks, reading it over the weekend!

I used to link to the top level but a few forums grumped about that because Banned from Boxing was on the list too and it's not free. :P Now I just deep link directly to the book and trust that most people are smart enough to link back up to the store.

Well done as ever, Kirk. I'm looking forward to your lecture on re-publishing at ISMAC, too.

Well, I'm looking forward to it too. I'm not sure how many others besides you and I though. :) To be honest, I offered the lecture to Jared because I heard he was having trouble finding victims for the lecture "filler."

It's a pity that Longhurst appears not to have formally taught his system. I'd say that of the second generation British self defense instructors, he was the most sympathetic to what Barton-Wright was trying to do. "Jiujitsu and Other Methods" was the closest thing to a Bartitsu manual to have come out of England in the pre-WW1 period.

Yeah. Still, I feel lucky to have the book at all. I've made use of the stick material as well.

I've seen a couple of later editions. The main differences are that later editors/publishers updated the clothing styles in the illustrations as fashions changed (which IMO actually detracts from their value as the photographs in the early editions were replaced by sketches) and that there was an increase in judo content per se after the 1920s. Eventually Longhurst produced another book called "Jujitsu and Judo", which was almost completely based on Sadakazu Uyenishi's "Textbook of Jujitsu".

I'd recommend referring to the 1906 edition that Kirk has re-published for Bartitsu-like self defense and to William Garrud's "Complete Jujitsuan", Tani/Miyake's "Game of Jujitsu" and Sadakazu Uyenishi's "Textbook of Jujitsu" for a good overview of Japanese MA as practiced in England during the early 20th century. Note also that the second volume of the Bartitsu Compendium draws its jujitsu content from these and similar books, all pre-dating the early 1920s.